Inside the Foundation Hall, the rhythmic clang of the Earth Spirits' forging hammers echoed like the sole heartbeat of this subterranean world—steady and methodical, dispelling the endless, deathly silence.
The air was thick with the scorching scent of molten rock and metal, yet it brought an unexpected sense of peace.
The continuous high-intensity exploration and combat had pushed Lin Qingyue and her sister to the peak of their exhaustion. The mental strain, far more draining than physical exertion, left them utterly weary.
Especially after the heart-pounding stealth infiltration, the desperate escape from the pursuing Slime Tide, and... that historically embarrassing cross-dressing incident.
"Sister, we're really... in 16th place."
Lin Xiyue leaned against a warm stone wall, refreshing the rankings on her wristband over and over. Her bright eyes nearly overflowed with excitement.
She felt like she was dreaming.
Lin Qingyue sat beside her, eyes closed. Her long lashes cast quiet, flickering shadows in the firelight.
She merely hummed a soft "Mmm," her voice thick with exhaustion.
While the surge in their rankings was a huge surprise, the mental shock from the answer to "the entirety of the world" far surpassed it.
For the first time, Lin Qingyue realized that every choice they made here, every breath they took, could unleash unpredictable, monstrous waves in this "real" world.
This might not be a simple exam at all.
"Sister, my eyelids are fighting... I can't hold on much longer..." Lin Xiyue let out a huge yawn, her eyelids drooping heavily.
Though her Paladin Armor provided powerful defense, wearing it constantly was a significant burden.
"Just a little longer."
Lin Qingyue retrieved several alchemical items from her Equipment Space.
A few palm-sized Glimmering Warning Rune Stones.
A small vial of Dust of Tranquility, fine as mist.
These were all warning supplies she had prepared for the Dungeon. They were expensive, but when a peaceful sleep was needed, they were priceless.
The two sisters found a relatively dry corner at the edge of the Stone Hall, far from the forging area.
Lin Qingyue silently placed the Rune Stones around their resting spot at specific array angles. A simple warning array quietly formed.
Any hostile creature stepping inside would trigger the Rune Stones, activating a mental alarm only they could perceive.
Next, she sprinkled a thin layer of Dust of Tranquility at the entrance to the passage leading to the Earth Spirit Core Zone.
This powder absorbed sound and masked scents.
Only after doing all this did she finally relax.
"Alright, sleep now."
"With the warning circle, we can both get a good night's sleep."
Lin Xiyue watched her sister's fluid, expert movements with pure admiration. She nodded, and the moment her head tilted, she sank into a deep sleep.
Lin Qingyue, too, closed her eyes, enveloped by exhaustion and the fragile sense of security she had painstakingly built.
They were simply too tired.
-
Meanwhile, outside the Dungeon.
Jiangnan Prefecture, Joint Points Monitoring Center.
Vwoom—
On the massive display leaderboard, a line of data suddenly flashed a blinding red and began to skyrocket.
It shot past the names of over a hundred teams before finally, defiantly, locking into place.
[16. Qingyue Xiyue - Points: 17,455]
"Hmm?"
Professor Zhou Wenhai, head of Jinghua University's admissions team and nicknamed the "Old Fox," pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose.
His gaze, sharp enough to pierce the display, scanned the line of data as if trying to see the people behind it.
"Qingyue Xiyue? Never heard of them. Which school's team is this?" he asked calmly, taking a sip of strong tea.
He'd seen plenty of dark horses like this before—teams that hid their strength early on, only to unleash it now.
His assistant immediately pulled up the team's file, but after a single glance, he froze.
"Pro-Professor Zhou... this team... it only has two members."
"What?"
The hot tea Zhou Wenhai had just sipped went down the wrong pipe, and he nearly lost his composure in public.
He lunged toward the screen. When his eyes locked on the small print—"Team Members: 2/4"—the muscles on his perpetually calm face instantly tensed.
"Two people? A two-person team stormed into sixteenth place in the entire prefecture?"
Beside him, Chen Mo—a burly, powerfully built man and a rival from Didu University—had also seen the information. His voice was thick with disbelief.
"Investigate! Pull up all their files immediately! Real-time monitoring—get me everything you can!" Zhou Wenhai's voice suddenly rose in pitch, all traces of his earlier composure gone.
Across the entire monitoring hall, the gazes of every university admissions officer snapped toward his roar.
A two-person team breaking into the top twenty? What did that even mean?
It meant that the value generated by those two individuals surpassed countless full four-person squads composed of elites from major academies!
This wasn't just a dark horse anymore—this was a monster!
Soon, the sisters' files were displayed.
[Lin Qingyue, 18, Yicheng Seventh High School, Lv. 20, Class: Priest (Support/Healer)]
[Lin Xiyue, 18, Yicheng Seventh High School, Lv. 22, Class: Paladin (Tank)]
Chen Mo's breath hitched. "Damn, Holy Light Twins! Yicheng Seventh High School has been hiding a royal flush like this?"
"Something's wrong," Zhou Wenhai said, his brow furrowed into a tight knot.
"Look at their classes—one is a primary healer, the other a primary tank. It's a pure survival composition; burst damage is their inherent weakness. How could they possibly farm such terrifying scores so early in the competition?"
"Their points had a sudden, massive spike half an hour ago!" an assistant reported rapidly. "They gained fifteen thousand points in one go! The source... the source was 'Gathering Rare Strategic Resource: Mithril'!"
"Mithril!" Wang Meng slammed his fist on the table, his eyes burning with intensity. "They found a Mithril vein! And they have the means to mine it efficiently!"
Soon, partial combat footage was pulled up.
After watching it, the atmosphere in the monitoring center turned strange.
"This Priest... is she really a Priest? Why is she so skilled at clubbing people over the head and stabbing them in the kidneys with that pink staff?!"
"And that Paladin—the force of her shield bashes and the precision of her swordsmanship... her fundamentals are ridiculously solid!"
"They actually found the Earth Spirit Ruins and worked together to repel a Slime Tide? That luck and strength... Wait, the Priest can transform?! What kind of Transformation is that? There's no record of this figure in the database!"
"The key point is, they're only a team of two!" Zhou Wenhai said, emphasizing each word, his voice filled with fervor.
"No damage dealer! They achieved these results relying solely on a Priest and a Paladin! This level of tactical execution, this depth of class understanding... and this potential to completely break the mold!"
After a brief, dead silence, the room erupted into absolute madness.
What these two girls had demonstrated was combat intelligence far beyond their level—the infinite potential to shatter class boundaries!
"We must recruit them!"
"Draft an S-rank special recruitment plan immediately! Triple the scholarship! Grant them access to the A-rank resource library! As long as they agree, all conditions are negotiable!"
In an instant, undercurrents surged through the admissions departments of every major university. Special recruitment plans targeting the sisters were drafted with lightning speed.
Every admissions officer silently pinned the sisters' profiles to the top of their lists, marking them as: [S-Rank · Highest Priority Target].